These passages Chambers uses for his entry used to confuse, then frighten me (Luke 9:57-62). But the one in the middle provides hope. There are three candidates for ministry, two of whom chose Jesus, and one Jesus chose. The first one mentions no reservations, but Jesus points out that He has no "home". I can't quite figure out why. I looked at the words used, and I don't get the connection. Luke may just be illustrating a point that Jesus had no home and following Him was a testimony of perseverance on the part of the Twelve.
The second one is called by Jesus to follow Him. He says he needs to "bury his father" which sounds reasonable, considering Jesus is traveling between spots, so this person must be as well. So, in transit to bury his father, Jesus calls him to follow. He agrees, but wants to finish his "quest" first. Rather than stop here though, Jesus tells him to let others bury his father and instead go and proclaim the Kingdom of God. How, if he only met Jesus on the road, would he know enough to proclaim the Kingdom apart from Jesus' company? This must have been an extraordinary person. The only other time Jesus gave that command was to the former victim of the legion of demons.
The third claims he will follow once he says goodbye to his household. He's traveling, and he didn't already do that? Perhaps he should go back and use the bathroom too. Jesus' response is perhaps the harshest of the three. Looking back after beginning to plow (or serve/follow in this case) is not fit for the Kingdom of God; the very Kingdom the other protestor was told to proclaim. This guy wasn't fit to be in the Kingdom, not just unfit to proclaim it, if he went back home.
It seems to me that choosing Jesus is a dangerous proposition. He responds to those who choose Him, but He's not nice about it. He is more persistent with those He chooses. He plays favorites, and is selective. We do that in America, but we don't like it done to us or others. Only when we do it is it acceptable, but we still feel bad for it at some level. The statement in our declaration of independence that all men are created equal forms cultural bedrock we are rarely conscious of. The reality is that we are not created equal, and that saddens me, and scares me.
The belief that some people are created to populate hell is an odd thing to consider. And yet it's true. I don't know who they are, so I need to make the Kingdom and myself available to everyone. But some are created for hell. Some are created to serve, and some are not fit for service. Some fit for service don't want to go, but my Master compels them anyway. It seems such a strange way to deal with this world, and I wonder where I fit into it. I have educated myself for ten years believing I was to minister vocationally. I was wrong. So where do I fit if not in vocational ministry? (and yes, I'm sure I'm not fit for vocational ministry, and no, you don't need to answer that) That is a question I will most likely not be able to answer this morning. Perhaps tomorrow.
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